


Wander Into the Thicket

by In_Hind_Sight



Series: Prompt Fills [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Hunter AU, Hunter Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), M/M, Minor Injuries, Nature, Pining Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Seperation Anxiety, Wanderer Eren, outdoors, rivaere - Freeform, somewhat?, written for a prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-11 02:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12925347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_Hind_Sight/pseuds/In_Hind_Sight
Summary: Eren's always leaving, Levi just wants him to stay.The Wanderer struggles to look for a place to be, the Hunter knows exactly where.





	Wander Into the Thicket

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Serpex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serpex/gifts).



> Based off of the prompt:
> 
> Write a lighthearted relationship between a hunter and a wanderer who bond over addiction.

There's something about the forest that draws him in. How having a simple gun in your hand can make the woods a thousand times more surreal. How it can make you appreciate the alluring atmosphere that much more.

It makes him study everything extra carefully, helps him notice the small details while he scans the area for his next prey. That the sun will shine a familiar radiant gold while it sets beyond the horizon, how it'll give the water a gleaming iridescent sparkle. That the birds are loudest during the earlier hours of the morning (he's been doing this enough times even to recognize each of the bird's deciphering calls).

This forest is the reason he stays, the reason he has a place to reside and call home, why he couldn't imagine being anywhere but right here, sitting in the cool thicket peering through the crosshairs of his gun for his next awaiting target.

But the reason he comes here is not the same.

Levi hunts. He's a Hunter, most would call. A 'darn good one, too' or so the raven's been told. He's been doing it for as long as he can remember, too. Even when he was a young boy he'd marveled at the sport, continuing to pursue it as he'd grown older.

A nearby sound brings the raven to attention, the sound of bushes rustling excessively, leaves being carelessly pushed apart.

Quickly gaining focus, Levi locks his aim onto the target, expecting to see some kindof deer or perhaps even a badger. Surely it's an injured one as the creature is explicably terrible at remaining stealthy.

Concentrated gunmetal eyes catch a familiar gaze through his scope, one the color of the setting sun. He immediately sets his shotgun down, knowing he wouldn't want to ruin those pretty irises. Levi gets up from the crouched position he was currently set in, coming out of the thicket.

"I nearly blew your brains out" He says coolly.

Bright white teeth the color of trilliums flash him a smile before speaking in that signature smooth voice Levi remembers countless times falling asleep to. Listening to it's breathless whispers.

"Ah, you wouldn't make that same mistake twice, would you?"

After all, it had been that fateful oversight that had caused the two to meet.

Afew years back, Levi had mistaken Eren for a doe, a result of being a bit too trigger happy that day. Luckily his aim had been off so luckily the brunet boy hadn't received any terrible life threatening injuries. Although he did receive a nicely placed bullet deep in the middle of his wrist and it did leave behind a small scar from the way the small metal ball had tore into it. Which had 'hurt like hell' Eren will begrudgingly admit.

 Even if Levi doesn't wish to repeat the scene, he can't find himself to regret it as it had been the very thing that had managed to bring them close, much less becoming introduced to eachother in the first place.

Eren had just been passing through the forest at the time, having managed to get a bit lost on one of the more hidden trails within the forest, trudging aimlessly through the branches and Levi will later realize that those footsteps would've been far too heavy to have belonged to any deer. But past Levi hadn't thought about that and like he said before; he was feeling oddly connected to the gun's trigger that day.

Nonetheless however, he'd shot him.

Levi remembers how quickly he'd rushed out of the thicket he'd been crouched down in, recognizing the anguished scream as not the baying call of a doe, but a human.

Immediately after, the older man had met face-to-face with easily the most admirable looking boy he'd caught sight of in a long, _long_  time. He still recalls how angry Eren looked when Levi had revealed himself; looking between wanting to cry from how much pain he must've been in (judging from how he gripped onto his sporadically bleeding wrist) and wanting to throttle Levi halfway across the woods.

It took the dark-haired man a reasonable amount of effort in convincing Eren that he could properly treat the wound back at his house if he came with him.

With bitter feelings, Eren had no other choice but to follow, or risk gaining infection and likely a sufficient amount of blood loss before he located an actual doctor.

Back at the raven's house, Levi wrapped up Eren's wrist with some sterile cloth he'd located near the far back of his linen closet. During the time it took the older man to treat the wound, a conversation had sparked. Levi asking and Eren explaining that he'd wandered a bit too far off the path while trying to find the village (that Levi currently resides in). When asked why, the brunet told that he'd simply wanted to find some nice sights to sketch as he'd heard (from a old weathered man he'd encountered from the last village) that this fateful town was keeper of one of the loveliest forests for miles.

Then somehow they'd begun discussing how Eren was going to stay in this town since its inn had been out of service since a couple years back and no one since then had ever taken up management.

Which of course-Levi being the gentlemen he is- offered Eren his residence, saying he owned a small guest room for Eren to borrow. He felt obliged to help the young man since he'd been the one who'd injured him (and not because he wouldn't mind being able gaze upon those gorgeous sunny eyes for a little bit longer).

Admittedly, Levi still feels pretty bad about it though so now he makes sure everytime he gets the chance to hold that flawlessly tanned hand, to remember to press a chaste kiss to it's scar.

Eren had stayed while his wrist heeled and over that period of time Levi had not only fallen for those sunset-coloured eyes but the gorgeous captor behind them. They'd fallen for eachother fast and when it came for the younger man to leave he found he couldn't. Eren had stayed for another week.

But he didn't stay, he couldn't. He was too far addicted to the feeling of always having moving ground beneath his feet, having that thrill of discovering new sights and cataloguing them in his precious sketch book.

Still, he always came back, every few months or so, back to Levi. The Long distance was hard. There was absolutely no way to communicate and since Eren was always on the move, sending letters definitely wasn't an option.

Even if it was, Levi would probably never be happy with what he wrote down and would most likely just crumple up an overly-sappy paper in the end.

They've been continuing like this for around two years now and Levi was beginning to get restless- not with Eren, hell no he didn't think he could ever get tired of the bright boy even if he wanted too- but with how every single time Eren would leave him, barely even staying for more than 2-3 weeks. Levi's voiced his complaints before and they've argued a bit about it before, resulting in Eren leaving early and Levi feeling even more lonely.

Levi doesn't understand, why he can't just stay. He knows Eren loves it here, sees it in those sparkling eyes whenever they catch sight of anything remotely beautifully in the quaint town. But Eren's arguments are always _'I don't like being confined to a small space'_ and _'I want to be able to feel free'._

Levi understands _that._ In fact, it's partially one of the reasons he's so attached to his hobby of hunting. Which he does, everytime he's ever gone on these outings, he feels it.

But he's just never felt any greater freedom than when he's Eren. To be able to be himself without worrying that Eren will want to change him- not that Levi's ever cared about that, but it's a nice reassurance that Eren loves him for exactly how he is. Eren keeps coming back because Eren loves Levi.

So why can't he just stay? With him?

They've fought about this topic occasionally, argued a bit- which sometimes results in Eren leaving earlier, being too fed up with Levi. Which leaves the older man feeling even _more_ of that loneliness and longing when the shining brunet isn't here.

It takes Levi a moment to come out of his reverie when he realizes that Eren's been talking to him.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" He asks, to which Eren rolls his golden eyes.

"I _said_ ," He raises his voice a little, "I figured I could find you here, seeing as you're still utterly obsessed with hunting"

"What, you expected me to be knitting some ugly-ass sweater for you or something?" Levi pitches back at him.

Eren giggles a bit, "Always such a charmer Levi"

Levi hums in reponse, "You suppose we should get back to my house now?" he says, taking note that the burning sun has become significantly lower in the sky than when he last checked it.

Eren flashes him a smile so bright it rivals the fucking  _sun_ , "Yes please"

"Alright give me a minute" Levi says, taking out an old worn (but sterile) cloth from his pocket and begins to clean the barrel of his rifle, carefully wiping away the dirty grime and gunpowder away from his rifle.

Eren watched him quietly.

"As always, attached to your gun collection, huh?"

"You sound jealous"

"I'm not, after all I happen to like your gun collection quite a lot. Especially the one you keep in your pants" the brunet grins slyly.

Levi snorts loudly, "Fuck, that was so bad. You'd think you're pickup lines would get less shitty as time went on, huh?" He gets up, having finished packing up and trying to distract himself from the heat rushing through his body at Eren's usual shitty attempt at flirting.

The brunet pouts at him, "I thought it was pretty clever to be completely honest"

Levi fails terribly at trying too fight off the small smile that forms, "Yeah whatever" he says, beginning to walk in the direction that is his house, Eren immediately trailing behind him.

They walk in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the peace and the calming atmosphere of the forest.

Levi nearly misses it, if he had been paying proper attention to the path in front of him he probably would've, but he doesn't. He stops, causing Eren to let a small yelp behind him as he hadn't expected the abrupt halt, nearly crashing into the shorter man.

What Levi's stopped for, is a _beautiful_  woodland sunflower, a more vibrant yellow than the ones he's usually seen here, of course he finds it's gorgeous hue comparable to Eren's (although it doesn't even come close). Levi knows it's probably the most cliché thing he could ever do but he can't help it, he leans down and picks the flower carefully before turning and handing it to Eren.

Eren's initial reaction upon the the pretty plant looks as if he wants to cry. Levi's about to ask him if he's okay but before he knows it, Eren's grabbing his shirt collar and yanking him into a kiss, slotting their lips together, Eren's painfully soft one's moving against Levi's. The darker-haired man's hands shifting to the brunet's hips to steady the two of them.

"Levi," Eren says breathlessly when they part, reverting his gaze to stare at the golden flower's petals. Levi hums in response.

The younger man looks as if he's contemplating something before he speaks, "Would you mind if I stayed with you?"

Levi raises an eyebrow, a bit confused at the inquiry "What do you mean? You always stay here."

"No I mean-not temporarily, as in... to live here"

To say Levi's shocked is a huge understatement. He's never felt so downright _astonished_  in his entire life,  feels as if he's dreaming or wondering if this is even the real Eren because there's no way Eren's actually serious after so long of Levi constantly watching Eren's back while he leaves.

"Do you mean it?" The older man _has_ ask for confirmation. To his great surprise, Eren nods.

"Wh- How?" Levi finds himself saying.

Eren's irises shine that familiar radiant gold and his teeth sparkle as he flashes Levi a smile before he begins walking ahead of Levi.

Levi doesn't ask right away, after all he has all the sunsets in the world to gaze upon from the thicket he's crouched down in.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my second prompt written with Serpex. (Her's is amazing you should really go check it out).
> 
> As always you can find this story on my Wattpad @In_Hind_Sight


End file.
